South Africa has blamed Lesotho nationals for Saturday’s fatal shootout between rival groups of illegal miners, known as zama-zamas, in Riverlea, Johannesburg.
SA police minister Bheki Cele did not stop there: he went on tell the media: “I have met the minister of police in Lesotho, not once, to raise the issues surrounding the illegal mines in South Africa. Basotho gangs bring their rivalry to SA and continue to engage in deadly fights.”
This was a veiled attack on the government of Lesotho’s supposed failure or reluctance to address the problem of illegal mining in SA.
In June this year, SA’s natural resources minister Gwede Mantashe accused Lesotho of sabotaging his country’s economy. He was commenting on the demise of 31 Lesotho nationals who perished while mining gold illegally in a closed mine in the neighbouring country.
We would like to remind the South African government as it blames Lesotho for the illegal mining, that treating the symptom only prolongs the disorder. It is even worse when one pretends the disorder is not there.
Illegal mining is not a new thing; neither is it a Lesotho thing. History tells us that South African authorities first became aware of the burgeoning illegal-mining industry in the 90’s after a fire broke out in one of Welkom’s operational shafts. A rescue team discovered several dead bodies and the dead men were not carrying any identification. They had been mining illegally in a disused area. The managers of the mine reported that were not missing any workers.
In 1999, police arrested 28 zama-zamas in a nearby section of the tunnels. The men were laid-off mine workers.
Gold smuggling in SA is loosely organised into a pyramid structure. At the bottom are the miners, who sell to local buyers, who sell to regional buyers, who sell to national buyers; at the top are international gold dealers.
Lesotho is not among those international buyers. SA should point fingers at the real brains behind illegal mining instead of using Lesotho as a fall guy. This cosmetic approach won’t help any matters!
